Its official – last year was the hottest year on record. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and NASA today released data showing Earth’s temperature had risen by nearly 1C since pre-industrial years.
The average temperature was 14.79C, 0.17C degrees higher than in 2014.
The ice age was only around five degrees cooler than the average.
Scientists blame the rapid temperature increase on man-made global warming and the naturally recurring phenomenon El Niño.
The hike in temperature led to a spate of bizarre weather. Here’s a round up of the weirdest weather from the last year:
Cyclone cluster
In early March there were four simultaneous tropical cyclones over the Eastern Southern Hemisphere. Cyclone Olwyn made landfall in western Australia. Nathan did a U-turn before hitting the Far North. Bavi headed out towards the open Western Pacific and Pam battered Vanuatu.
Heatwaves
May was a month of extreme weather for the Northern Hemisphere. A heatwave killed 1,800 people in India and the mercury reached 32C in Alaska, United States.
The death toll from India's heatwave has reached 2000, with conditions set to continue for two days. (AAP)
Midsummer snow
Yes – it snows in Hawaii and this year it did in July. The summit of Mauna Kea on Hawaii’s Big Island was hit by a 1.5-inch snowstorm. The summit normally reaches temperatures of 40C during summer months.
Summer snow. Winter dog. Source: Getty Images
Shelf storms
This apocalyptic shelf cloud approaching Bondi last year didn’t last long but it brought with it giant hailstones and a quick 8C drop in temperature.
A storm about to punish Sydney's Eastern suburbs. pic.twitter.com/r5bECt1G3B — Will Reid (@mrwillreid) November 6, 2015
Global extremes
December was a month of extremes all over the globe. Daffodils sprouted in Europe, while floods ravaged the north of Britain. Here in Australia, we experienced the hottest ever end to a year, 0.36 degrees higher than the previous record. 
Winter daffodils. Summer dog. Source: AAP
Atlantic hurricane
A hurricane named Alex formed in the middle of the Atlantic earlier this month. It was the first to form during January since 1938. After weakening, the storm made landfall in the Azores causing minor damage. 
Dennis Barrett paddles down Padre Boulevard in his kayak in flood waters caused by hurricane Alex in South Padre Island, Texas Source: AAP
And then the “weather” got a whole lot weirder…
It rained baby spiders in the Southern Tablelands last May. Houses were covered in millions of spiders with webs going up for a couple of metres into the sky.
Apparently, its completely normal for baby spiders to deploy the dispersal technique called “ballooning”. Baby spiders climb to the top of tress and release silk, which catches in the wind allowing the spiders to be carried in the air.
2016 is expected to be even warmer (and probably weirder).
THAT IS ALL SPIDERS. THE SPIDERS WERE EVERYWHERE AND IT WAS TERRIBLE Source: AAP
